Home Green Homes

My model is if you look at the cost of owning a house holistically, is a high performance home better? In most cases I can tell you with all confidence it is.  But a lot of people look at first cost, and they say, “wait a minute, this house costs 10,000 bucks more than house B over here, which is code built.”  And they’re missing the big picture.  My point is that I don’t wanna be the right person...

"Is my home going to last longer? Is home gonna be more beneficial for me in some ways?  Is it gonna be easier to maintain? Am I gonna have lower energy bills and water bils?  Is it just gonna be cooler?  Is it gonna be like really interesting and fun to have some that also happens to be environmentally friendly?  Knowing that information as soon as possible in your home search is more beneficial...

So I make electricity from the sun. With that electricity, I make water out of air.  With that water, it goes to the pressure tank.  That pressure tank would then take it to the water heater. The water heater is a heat pump water heater, which we use the electricity from the sun to heat the water heater. The bi-product of water heater is the air conditioning.  That’s the only air conditioning we w...

In the beginning, just because a lot of people, like I said before, a lot of people, they don't know, or they have not conscious of what's going on in the world, and how they can save money and electricity, gas, or the more healthy. A lot of people aren’t sure. So I was a little hesitant in the beginning.  I said, how we're going to market this property and to get the price that we want. Because o...

“I think there’s definitely certain Feng Shui principles and concepts that can and should be used through our architecture. At the same time, it can also be very logical because Feng Shui is based on the natural world, the interactions with the natural world, the operation of the natural world and the flow of energies.” El Larson is a wellness real estate agent and Wellness Design Consultant.  She...

"Literally if you gave me two words to describe you what I’m doing, I would say “eco-flipping.”  That is actually what I’d say to you.  But there’s a huge difference in what it means because third party certification means adherence to certain standards and have to be not only done but defend it and understood.  So the buyer of this home is going to know exactly what is behind all of their walls,...

"I want to inspire others who are doing this work but based on a different set of priorities, who understand that this priority of sustainability, of efficiencies of resources and processes, of reduction of wastes of all sorts including the carbon is valued. And you should be incorporating those priorities into your project." Steve Matloff is a “sustainable real estate RE-developer,” CEO and found...

"From the environmental aspect, composing has so many benefits. When you compost your food instead of throw way in the landfill, it gets proper aeration and it has oxygen to properly decompose so it doesn't release harmful greenhouse gasses like methane into the environment. So it's helping kind of the global warming movement on one aspect. And then from another lens, I'm taking AP environmental s...

"You know, I thought, I know about your podcast and I'm really thinking about what I can contribute in. It's really quite numerous. And so as I said, very little hereditary and so most of it is  environmental. So one thing I want to say, it's tangential to your question, but I don't want it to be lost.  It is family history and non-hereditary  because we also share environments, share homes, maybe...

“Part of that is to be able to honestly and clearly articulate the difference between cost, especially the upfront cost and long term value, obviously the fiscal value of something that works as your monthly output is less for that.  And that money can go towards small add to your mortgage.  But there’s also these amazing soft cost value that people don’t know.  You can’t quite grasp until you’re...

"I’m a big believer that if a product or space is human friendly, then by definition, it’s environmentally friendly.  I don’t think the same is true in the opposite direction.  There are plenty of products that are eco-friendly but still very very dangerous for humans.  There’s also plenty of examples of things that are 100% natural that are dangerous for humans." - Andy Pace When I first learned...

“So it is one of the most effective things you can do as a homeowner to make a difference to the world with respect to climate is by going solar.  So please do not delay because our planet can,  well, our planet will be fine, we'll just be dead. We need to make a difference if we want to make this planet a planet where our children and grandchildren are going to be able to enjoy.  So make that dec...

“I think especially when you get to the point of EHS, that everybody takes responsibility for their own energy, and that’s part of the healing. Just as important it is to put that metal shielding around those wires as it is to be very mindful of how we’re using our energy, and how we’re treating out bodies.” Michael Bender, an artist and writer by profession, who struggled with increasingly aggrav...

“A couple of things to know about tax credit. So there’s efficiency tax credit and renewable tax credit. Efficiency tax credits are the ones that were expanded this year. It used to be set at $500 whereas now you can take up to $3,200 in the tax year in which you make the installations. On the renewable side, one thing that’s important to know is that for the first time now battery storage is a pa...

“If I’m speaking to a builder, your home owner, your client is going to be more comfortable, they’re going to be happier; they’re going to be healthier; and they’re going to love living in this home compared to any other home that is less than, and that is something that I think isn’t top of mind for a lot of people when they think about green building. Health and comfort doesn’t always come.” Kar...

"I went down the rabbit hall of, “O.K. how can every choice I make as a consumer be made with an idea of thinking about where does this come from, what are actually the ingredients, and materials that are being used; and what happens at the end of life of this product?” Basically, my mission right now is I guess I categorize myself as becoming a zero waste living advocate." Amanda Cavallo is an ar...

“When you purchase a home, it’s more than just principal and interest. You’re never going to own a home and not utilities, not have power payment, not have gas payment, and not have water payment. So we said, O.K., let’s talk about PITI plus utilities and then what’s that total payment, then how can we maximize that for home buyers.” When purchasing homes, home buyers who are financing the purchas...

Definition of sustainable site is it promotes land development and management practices with our future in mind.  So sustainable sites generate less waste, minimize impact on the landscape, and use less energy, water and natural resources. Brandon is a Sr. Applications Engineer for one of an innovative solar technology company.  He was influenced by growing up with a father who was a pioneer of su...

I think we understand more and more that life webs that we’re all in makes human beings happier and healthier, that there’s things to do to acknowledge those life webs and do what we can do to help it. Greg Travis is an old friend of mine, who has become an amateur expert on native plants gardening.  He and his partner bought their 1908 craftsman they now call home in West Adams area of Los Angele...

[This episode is from a short video about Adam's project.  Best to watch on HomeGreenHomes YouTube channel.] Adam, a long-time construction professional, and his family were experiencing health issues when they found their “property” in Redwood City, California. What they wanted was a place where they felt healthy.  Yet the property was in such disrepair that his first thought was to demolish and...

“I’m a firm believer that the soil health is human health.  If we start with the land first, it will reap the fruits of our labor and it’s highly reciprocal.” Diego Torrelio is a Founder and CEO of Circlefoot.   Circlefoot is the leading wellness landscaping and construction company based in San Mateo County, California. They design, build, and manage homes, gardens, homesteads, and small farms in...

“Discussion about energy efficiency, net positive and locking your energy cost by installing solar power. They’re privileged conversations. But I want to deliver energy efficiency and the promise of being a part of clean energy future to bigger groups of people that don’t necessarily have access and make it a much more equitable thing.” Realty Energy Partners work with Realtors and their communiti...

We are not looking to be orthodox about our ability to create low carbon footprint and green homes.  We’re looking to educate people and let people know that this is possible, and you can do it beautifully, economically and have impact. Greg Roth is the senior designer for CarbonShackDesign , a branch of Home Front Build , an architectural firm.  CarbonSharkDesign offers a holistic approach to gre...

“Capturing rainwater and letting it make its way back into earth is really the most sustainable thing you can do with the water on the property, and a good way to guarantee water supply in a more sustainable way.” Do you know that an inch of rain on a 1,000 sq/ft roof topcan collect 600 gallons of water? Jesse Froehlich Savou, a native of Davis, CA native, thinks everyone should be able to harvest...

"...soil without biology is geology. It's supposed to have life in there.  So by telling people to use harsh chemical fertilizers I was part of the problem.  I heard this saying, 'Be the solution, not the problem." Nationwide, landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day. As climate destabilization leads t...